Want some advice. Just rack mount the amp. Racks come in 19 inch ..and also
24 inch. Loads of surplus racks available. I went to my local metal
supermarket and had em
shear the front panel......using .125 inch thick 6061-T6 aluminum. 19 inch
wide x XXX high. The actual amp chassis is also made from .125 inch thick
6061-T6.
Chassis consists of separate front, rear and 2 x side panels. Plus top and
bottom covers. 1 inch x 1 inch angle Aluminum, also .125 inch thick, also
6061-T6 is used
to connect all the various panels together. That way, any individual panel
can be removed..and drilled from the inside, or outside. 10-32 SS machine
screws hold it all
together. In my case, I added large panels above the chassis, so when all
done, the RF deck is one big box. Chassis is 5 inchs tall...with the upper
panels sitting flush to the
chassis. Then when its all slid into the rack cabinet, it all ends up double
shielded. In my HB GG triode amps, I use a pair of broadcast variables and a
tapped coil for the tuned input.
I require enough chassis height to fit the tuned input down there, along with
all the other stuff.
The problem with a pre-made chassis is.... they are a bitch to drill the side
walls from the inside. If you try and jam stuff into a shoe box size cab,
you will have a helluva time trying
to make stuff fit. Get a tall enough rack cabinet and you can then put the HV
supply and blower in the lower portion of the rack..where it belongs. Put
casters on the rack...and
you can now roll it around. If you insist on having the RF deck sit on your
desk..and eat up a huge chunk of your desk....at least put the heavy HV supply
in a separate box......and
put it on the floor...also on casters. With a rack mount setup, its much
easier to substitute parts, and the layout is not as critical, since you have
room to manoeuver. You also
don’t end up with all the stray C associated with commercial built amps. Keep
the tank coils at least one half their diameter away from top, bottom, and
both side panels. A full diam
away is even better. I use .028 inch thick cu strap to interconnect
everything....with machine screws. Don’t mess with wire, it adds too much
stray XL.
Cu tubing is dirt cheap at any home depot. I silver plate all the copper
tubing and strap with this glop called ...cool-amp. http://www.cool-amp.com/
Jim VE7RF
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